Ethics
Retired California justice faces disciplinary expenses for allegedly taking too lengthy to resolve circumstances
Former Justice William J. Murray Jr. of the Third District Court docket of Enchantment in California has been accused of delaying lots of of case choices for years. (Picture from the Judicial Branch of California)
A retired state appellate justice in California has been accused of delaying lots of of case choices for years.
The California Fee on Judicial Efficiency mentioned Monday it launched formal proceedings towards former Justice William J. Murray Jr. of the Third District Court docket of Enchantment in California, who retired in 2022 after serving for 12 years.
Among the many fee’s expenses, filed June 10, Murray “engaged in a neglect of obligation and a sample of power delay” by failing to promptly resolve or dismiss 355 circumstances inside a 12 months after he was assigned a case or after a case was absolutely briefed. The fee mentioned two of his circumstances, one among which was a juvenile matter, weren’t determined for greater than eight years. It mentioned greater than 100 others have been delayed between three and 7 years.
The fee additionally famous that whereas “all protracted decisional delay damages the general public’s esteem for the judiciary,” Murray’s decisional delays “resulted in precise prejudice” to events in no less than 16 circumstances. This allegedly consists of an aged sufferer of felony securities fraud who died earlier than Murray issued an opinion within the case, which he had been assigned 4 years earlier.
“You didn’t decrease the affect of delay by prioritizing the delayed issues and taking into consideration the impact of delay on the events in some circumstances,” based on the fee. “Your neglect of obligation and sample of persistent decisional delay, as described above, … prejudiced civil litigants and felony defendants. It additionally, at minimal, created the looks that applicable appellate overview was impeded or denied.”
The fee alleged that Murray was conscious of and sometimes mentioned his case backlog with different members of the courtroom. It mentioned “corrective measures,” which included decreasing the variety of circumstances and sophisticated assignments, didn’t resolve his backlog. It additionally mentioned circumstances have been reassigned to different justices, and in a number of circumstances, one other justice requested to be reassigned from a panel that included Murray due to concern about his decisional delays.
“Your neglect of obligation and decisional delay … imposed a higher workload on analysis attorneys and different panel justices who have been required to conduct further analysis and evaluation, a few of which was vital as the results of your delay in deciding the circumstances,” the fee mentioned.
Murray is represented by Miller Waxler, based on Law.com, which has protection of the fee’s expenses towards the retired justice. The legislation agency informed the publication that Murray had labored towards a potential settlement with the Fee on Judicial Efficiency for greater than a 12 months after he retired. The agency additionally mentioned Murray was disillusioned by the costs however regarded ahead to presenting his case.
Regulation.com mentioned Gregory Dresser, the fee’s government director and chief counsel, declined to reply why disciplinary expenses weren’t filed towards Murray till three years after he retired.
“We consider we will show, by clear and convincing proof, the misconduct alleged within the discover of formal proceedings,” Dresser mentioned in an electronic mail to Regulation.com. “We additionally consider that the misconduct through which Justice Murray engaged is severe.”
Regulation.com famous that the costs towards Murray stem from an investigation into a number of justices on the appellate courtroom who allegedly allowed circumstances to take a seat unattended for years earlier than performing on them.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
